Facebook Leaking Users!

At Q4 2017, last week Facebook reveled that in it’s whole companies’ history that they had lost one million users in North America, in the USA and Canada – which led to the total user base of that region to a small 184 million. Personally, I’m impressed but I’m also conflicted. I’m impressed that people were actually bothered to care about their usage of Facebook and surprised they think that it’s going to make any difference to the tech giant or to their own personal privacy success. Facebook still saw a huge increase in unique daily users by 32 million, so where is this going again?

But the most curious thing for me is the why. Why did people decide to leave Facebook? Is it the addiction? The absolute waste of time that it is? Or is it the platforms issues? Fake news, subscribing you to things you didn’t subscribe to, having about 75% ads in your feed over people you care about? If it’s for reasons such as those I can’t be upset at these people for leaving. But if they have been deluded by the likes of Gabriel Weinberg, I can’t not but see them as fools.

Such an insignificant number is not going to change how much of your privacy is being breached by these tech giants. You have your phone, your laptop and you browse the generic open web – you must by default accept that you’re going to be traced and recorded by someone, someway or another. Yes, I understand how much you value your privacy but if you want your privacy then maybe consider dropping a LOT of the technology that you have become so accustomed to having. Plus what’s so bad about being traced and tracked anyway? I mean yeah, it’s creepy and all but it’s inevitable with the way technology is heading anyway.

I don’t see being targeted by ads as such a horrific thing, in my opinion the complete and utter loss of personal privacy within the advancement of this technology is only sure to happen and probably has happened quite a bit already. These tech giants will stop any regulations that get in their paths and the increasing number of people using these services will only solidify their power. 2018 will be another year where data privacy will continue to be breached and the path will only get darker. Facebook will be one of the companies that will control so much of what happens in our digital life.

Plus a lot of people’s social lives are held to a sort of detrimental status when they leave the likes of Facebook in this generation. To me, Facebook is a way to connect and a way to document what I choose to show publicly. It helps me advance and helps me set goals by seeing what I accomplish and publish for my friends and family to see. App addiction or not, trying to break away from services you enjoy for the sole reason of losing your privacy? Think again.